Solomon e



(No Model.)

S. E. BLAKE. SHOE STRING FASTENER.

No. 520,555. Patented May 29, 1894.

Sow/no, 5. 5404's.

WITNESSES INVENTOH UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

SOLOMON E. BLAKE, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

SHOESTRING-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,555, dated May 29, 1894.

Application filed July 5, 1893- Serial No. 479,679- (No model.)

I To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, SOLOMON E. BLAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoestring-Fasteners;

- and-I do declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a shoe -string fastener, which will hold the string securely after the shoe is laced, and will be itself more securely retained in the shoe than the shoe fasteners now;in use.

The invention consists of a small plate of metal, with three prongs which pass through the leather and are bent over to secure it thereto, and a small prong with an oval end which is bent over on the upper side to form a loop through which the end of the string is finally passed. The fastening prong is bent to form corresponding cavity or groove under the plate about which the end of the string is wound one or more times.

My improved shoe-string fastener is in-v tended to be placed at the top of the shoe immediately above the hooks.

To this end and to such others as the invention maypertain, the same consists in the peculiar construction, which will be more fully hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings and specification, and defined in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, which with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, like letters of reference indicating the same parts throughout the several views, in which- Figure l is a front view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side View before the prongs are clamped to the leather. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan, and Fig. 4 is a plan of the fastener when straight, before it'has been bent into the intended shape. Fig. 5 shows a perspective vlew.

In the drawings A represents my shoe string fastener provided with the three long and equal prongs a and the short prong b. The

long prongs are bent up under the plate and then curved to form a groove 0, the said grooves being all arranged in the same horizontal plane, made of like form and adapted to receive the string. That part of the prong a, below the groove 0, is passed through the leather and bent flat on the under side thereof to hold the plate securely. to the shoe. The small prong b is bent upwardly 'and over to form an open hook over the top of the plate A. The string is knotted or otherwise secured at the lower end of the opening in the shoe, then carried up through the holes and then around the buttons or hooks. After the string has passedaround the last hook or button it is carried under the hook prong Z),

around in the groove 0, one or more times and then engaged with the hook 1).

Having thus described my invention, what 'I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is---= 1. As an improved article of manufacture, a shoe-string fastener composed of a single piece of metal A, having three prongs a, on the under side of the plate, said prongs having grooves 0, arranged in the same horizontal 8o plane and a short prong or hook I), on the upper side of the plate projecting upwardly, substantially as shown and described.

2. A shoe-string fastener composed of a single piece of sheet metal A, with the three prongs a, on the under side and a hook b on the upper side, each of the said prongs having continuous similarly curved planes with a groove 0, on the upper side of the prongs,

substantially as and for the purpose specified. o

3. A shoe-string fastener composed of a single piece of plate metal, A,having three long prongs a, and one short prong ,b, the prongs a, having the grooves 0, under the plate and the prong I) being formed into an upwardly 5 

